Study: Video games improve brain function and decision-making

Previously, scientists have repeatedly proven the benefits of video games: they help deal with stress, fight symptoms mental disordersand also contribute intelligence development in children. New studyVideo game players have improved decision-making abilities and enhanced brain activities / ScienceDirect from scientists at the University of Georgia (USA) discovered another useful advantage that gamers get.

The study involved 47 volunteers aged 18-22 years. Of these, 28 were assigned to the group of active players (they spent more than 5 hours a week on video games), the remaining 19 made up the control group (they played less than an hour a week on average). Functional MRI was used for tests.

It looked like this: the subject lay inside an fMRI machine with a mirror through which they could see a screen with 600 moving dots of different colors. The researchers said which color chain should be followed, the rest should be ignored. Participants were asked to press a button in their right or left hand for 3 seconds to indicate the direction of movement of dots of a given color.

Prior to the start of the experiment, all participants Ishihara testto confirm that they do not have color blindness that would prevent them from completing the task.

The study showed that gamers reacted faster and more accurately. Analysis of the obtained brain scans revealed that the differences correlated with increased activity in certain parts of the brain. The authors note:

Analysis of the results suggests that video games can be a useful tool for teaching informed decision making. They can also potentially be used for therapy, but first it will be necessary to analyze in more detail the effects on specific areas of the brain.